The Oscars came to Montreal: red carpet, nervous nominees, coloured lights, champagne. The AGAC Visual Arts Gala modelled itself closely after the glamourous awards ceremony format, replete with an exuberant host (Emmanuel Bilodeau), slick graphic presentations, and winners read from an envelope. It was fascinating to see the Quebec visual arts community united in one building. Many people knew of each other but had never actually met, and it was wonderful to discover the faces behind the artworks and exhibitions we all saw throughout the year. Unlike performing artists, visual artists, curators, and gallerists mostly remain unseen, and last night they were nudged into the limelight.
The two highlights of the evening were the moments when the gala strayed from the traditional awards ceremony formula and ventured into the realm of contemporary arts. If you were wondering if any statuettes were given out, I am delighted to report that the job of designing the awards was conferred to the Montreal creative duo Doyon Rivest. They came up with a novel idea: an award scarf, featuring two arms. Draping the scarf around each winner, the arts community simultaneously gave the recipient a hug and a pat on the back. It’s also nice to be able to wear your award every day, and should your mantlepiece be cluttered you can roll it up and store your award in your sock drawer. The concept of the AGAC-scarf was presented to the audience with a saucy, irreverent video by Doyon Rivest which poked fun at the trendy culture vulture, eliciting some laughs from the audience.
My other favourite moment of the evening was a creative interlude by artist Massimo Guerrera. Guerrera is known for his performance art which relates the experience of food, consumer culture, and the human body. To the sound of billowing Tibetan chants, the artist and an assistant placed a row of egg cartons on the stage, which both men then carefully walked on as though stepping on hot coals. A symbolic move and an apt comment on the evening’s proceedings. The performance was charming, poignant, and humorours, as Guerrera and his partner burst into comical Tai-Chi style moves, and then embellished their bodies with paper plates (a reference, perhaps, to the act of receiving). The performance culminated in both performers sticking long, dangling rubber bands to their noses, and Guerrera kept his firmly in place as he read out the list of nominees with a completely straight face.
There were a few awkward moments, such as when the AGAC team, headed by Jean-François Beslile and Rheal Olivier Lantier, won the prize for Best Art Event for Papier 11. That the AGAC in effect gave a prize to itself was not lost on host Bilodeau who made a humorous jab later on and received a few grins from the audience. However, with an artistic community as small as the one in Quebec the chances of one of the awards going to the AGAC was fairly high. And while we’re on the subject of winners, here is the list of the 16 recipients of the AGAC scarf (which yet needs a nick-name – suggestions welcome!):
Young curator of the Year: Marie-Eve Beaupré
Curator of the Year: Nicole Gingras
Art critic of the Year in Mass Media: Marie-Eve Charron, Le Devoir
Art Critic of the Year in Specialized Media: Anne-Marie Ninacs
Blogger of the Year: Christian Messier, Punctum Arts Visuels
Best Art Event: Papier 11 Contemporary Art Fair, AGAC
Best Art Exhibition in the Region of Québec: Des objects sur des tables, Expression
Best Art Exhibition in an Art Institution: Anri Sala, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
Best Exhibition in an Art Centre: Jenny Holzer, DHC/ART
Best Exhibition in an Artist-Run Centre: Dans le ventre de la baleine, Marie-Claude Bouthillier, Optica
Best Exhibition in a Private Art Gallery: Petit losange laqué veiné, Valérie Blass, Parisian Laundry
Gallerist of the Year: Pierre-François Ouellette
Tribute to a Member of the Art Community: Louise Déry
Jean-Paul Riopelle Career Grant: Pierre Blanchette
Pierre-Ayot Award: Olivia Boudreau
Louis-Comtois Award: Marie-Claude Bouthillier
Warmest congratulations to all winners!
Once the official part of the evening was concluded, the lights were dimmed, the bubbly was uncorked, and the DJ cranked up the volume. The arts community got busy chatting, as they digested the experience of their very first and very own gala event. Canvassing the audience during the cocktail, the vast majority of responses were positive. However a few noteworthy comments were made. Several people I spoke to noticed that the list of nominees didn’t include any people of colour. In fact, there were barley any visible minorities in the audience, surprising and disappointing considering that Montreal bills itself as a multi-cultural milieu. Is this a representation of the realities of our elite in the visual arts?
Many artist I spoke to during the cocktail also expressed their wish to see more artists honoured at the gala, either by adding more categories for visual artists, or by bringing them on stage during the acceptance speeches. This entire community is built on the talent and work of visual artists, and they need a larger share of representation at this event.
Finally, everyone loved the Doyon-Rivest scarves and Guerrera’s performance. The consensus was that next year’s gala would benefit from more visual stimulation and more creative risk-taking. The typical gala formula worked well last night, but if you tap into the talent of the Quebec’s creative community, you could potentially have a more entertaining, thought-provoking event.
On a side note, I would like to throw out a challenge to the audience. Guys, this is a gala event. GA-LA. This means no jeans (I mean you, lady on the upper balcony). Seriously, I know you have a party dress in your wardrobe somewhere. You don’t need lots of cash to look awesome, get creative. I was fully expecting to see a swan-dress or a suit made of pipe cleaners, or something in that vein. This extends to the acceptance speeches as well, which could be read in Haiku or as a Greek chorus. I think everyone could inject a bit of creativity into this event and make it the trend-setter for other award galas. Just a thought.
A big thank you to the AGAC for taking the initiative of putting on a much needed event for our community. Well done, and I’m looking forward to next year!
Here is a short video to give you a taste of the evening:
